CIA has cultural blend of many lands

Universal talk is food's flavors

Feb. 27, 2007

Raimundo Gaby, center, professor at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, teaches a class on table service. Gaby is from Brazil. From left are Nathan Rawlinson from England, Elaine Kachler from Guatemala and Sangjoon Baek from Korea. / Darryl Bautista/Poughkeepsie Journal

Written by

Poughkeepsie Journal

Food is global. It represents a variety of flavors, but at the same time, it represents culture, tradition, history, geography and people.

For that reason, the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park is a "global" institute of learning, from the recipes to the ingredients, the students to the professional staff to the externship opportunities.

CIA student Jeffrey Jew, a native of Washington, studied culinary arts at a hotel restaurant in London for six months, as part of his externship. He said he learned about the classic cooking techniques used by top chefs in England.

About 10 percent of CIA externship sites are abroad, and are in all major countries, including England, France, Italy, Spain and Canada.

Jew described the CIA as "an interesting melting pot" with influences from around the world, but especially Asian countries.

That was evident during a class on table service, taught by Raimundo Gaby at the CIA's Escoffier Restaurant recently.

Assistant professor Gaby, who graduated from the CIA himself in 1997, moved to Staatsburg from Brazil to teach at the college three years ago. One of his recent classes consisted of three students, from Korea, Guatemala and England.

"It's good for students to be exposed to cultural differences, to learn, appreciate and understand that you have to have different experiences to enrich yourself," Gaby said.

About 7 percent of CIA students are international students.

Nathan Rawlinson, from Liverpool, England, read about the CIA in a book.

He came to the Hudson Valley on a student visa 19 months ago to attend the institute. In February, Rawlinson graduated from the college with his associate's degree and headed to New York City, where he said he will work for one year, then head back home.

"It surprised me how different things are. There are a lot of things that I miss about home," said Rawlinson, who was living in Poughkeepsie while attending the college.

Joon Baek also lived in Poughkeepsie on a student visa, while he finished his associate's degree at the CIA.

The Seoul, Korea, native also served as vice president of the college's Korean student association, which has about 60 members.

Baek planned to return home to fulfill a military requirement and then return to the CIA to study for his bachelor's degree. Someday, he said, he will teach cooking in Korea or open an Asian and French style restaurant there.

Elaine Kachler lived in Guatemala until she was 18. Her grandmother lives in Kingston, and that's how she ended up at the CIA.

The recent graduate planned to go back to Guatemala for a while, and then to move to Florida, and work at the Ritz Carlton, where she did her externship. But her long-term goal is to return to her country to teach others about culinary arts and perhaps tell them about her experiences in the valley.

It is typical for CIA's international students to leave the Hudson Valley, because they come here on temporary visas. Many are excited by the institute's proximity to New York City, and often spend the end of their visas, after graduation, in the busy city.